A Twin Too Many?
by Gigi13
Summary: Lindsey & his 4yr old Aly get interrupted watching a movie by Lindsey's twin, Eliot. Eliot & Aly are shocked by each others existence. Twin bickering ensues that Aly would love stopped. This is the Aly from "Life Unexpected", but it's a stand alone, so reading it is not required to get this one. The rating is for one "F" and two or three other words.


Summary: Lindsey and his daughter Aly were trying to watch a movie, but Eliot the identical twin of Lindsey's shows up for a favor but ends up being shocked to find he has a niece. Aly ends up feeling like she might be the only grown up in the apartment. This takes place after season 2 of Angel, and very soon after Lindsey found out about Aly from my story "Life, Unexpected", and season 1 of Leverage to set the team in LA. The rating is for a few bad words, including one "f-bomb".

A/N: I was working on "Life Unexpected" but this wouldn't leave me alone all week (I'm trying to get a new chapter up soon.) This contains a minor spoiler in the form of "Elle", and I don't plan on this playing a part in the other story. This was made as a stand-alone so anyone who hasn't read LU will not feel like they're missing anything (I hope!) But I do have some references thrown in. Though if there's interest maybe I'll do another one of these with them (suggestions welcome.) This is also the first time I've ever written any of the Leverage characters, and I hope I did Eliot justice for everyone.

Back story on Aly for those who don't know (the short version), she has a condition that's a sub category of Cerebral Palsy that causes severe limb tightness, in her case in all but her right arm/hand and she has a speech problem getting what's in her head into words.

Fun Fact: Blue Blood Bulldogs are a real breed.

* * *

Rainy Sunday's are the perfect days to sit around and watch a movie or two which is exactly what Lindsey and Aly were doing on the Sunday before they were interrupted. By Aly having picked Toy Story she finally exposed Lindsey to an animated movie that didn't annoy him, in fact, he liked it. This movie date had gone much better than the one that took place the day before that caused a near internal meltdown. Lindsey had put on Liar Liar (it was on basic TV so the few not four year old friendly moments and words were edited), as he found that movie to be a very funny take on lawyers since it came out. However he hadn't seen it in a while, the theme about making time for your kid that kind of related to his situation with Aly he was prepared for. But when they got to the part where Jim Carey was fighting his own out-of-control-hand, he felt mocked by something that once was an entertainment escape. Actual mocking did come from Samantha, Lindsey's long time secretary, and recent Parental Teacher since Aly came into Lindsey's life, she had a daughter, Teresa, the same age and they had both been over for the movie. Lindsey in turn provided a non-uncle, non-grandfather man around Sam's fatherless tomboy-ish daughter and it had been creating a complicated relationship extending beyond the days when Lindsey would spend a little too long watching the young, attractive tanned skin Italian bend over, lean forward, generally existing, at the office. Lindsey and Aly were as far apart on the couch as Elle their sleeping white with some brown spots, Blue Blood Bulldog was long, as she took it upon herself to join them and be in the middle. It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door.

Lindsey got up to get it and Elle got off the couch too to see who was outside her new home; pleasing Lindsey as protecting Aly was one of the reasons he got Elle (another part was to prove a certain green demon wrong about the extent of his own selfishness.) Once Lindsey opened the door the visitor walked right into his home and began talking immediately. "I need a favor and I need you to not bitch at me too much," Eliot turned to face his identical twin brother. Elle made whining sounds and looked at both confused. Even though the second one had longer hair, Aly gasped and wondered if maybe she needed new glasses, in case the sight of two Dads meant they were broken. Lindsey was simply annoyed.

"First of all I'm always doing you a favor," Lindsey pointed out knowing Eliot needed no further explanation. The favor was pretending he doesn't exist. "Second of all_ language_!," he pointed out as he walked by him and went back on the couch with Aly, which is when Eliot noticed the curly haired, brown eyed, little girl with proportionally appropriate little red glasses. Elle still stood around confused. Lindsey did not look directly at Aly because he knew how she was looking at him with the face Lindsey had labeled "Really, more crazy?", without needing to see her face as he was thinking how best case scenario this would be just one more psychologist visit he'll have to pay for in the future, worst case scenario in twenty years he'll be dragging Eliot to Vegas with him to try to stop Aly from marrying a wannabe rapper with a name like Gunz Killah out of spite (and trauma.)

"What's with the kid and the dog?" Eliot questioned, eyeing various child and dog toys in the room that were spread around like they naturally belonged there. "Please tell me you haven't resorted to see if kids and dogs do get girls?"

"Well, that's just as inappropriate to say too. Besides clearly I have girls, why would I want any others?" Lindsey replied. Aly was as pleased as Lindsey intended her to be. She just couldn't hear enough that her father liked her living with him; because her four years of being with her mother, before recently being abandoned by her, had her feeling like an obligation and a possibly disappointing one at that. "Get your ass off my coffee table!" he barked when Eliot went to sit on it. He moved to the chair.

"Language, Lindsey," Eliot mocked.

Lindsey shook his head "She's already accepted the apology I've issued that covers all bad words I've said and all bad words I will say. It's quite a time saver." Aly slightly nodded to back up her dad's claim, but she really did not want to get involved in this… whatever it was.

"Who is she?"

"What is this?" Lindsey questioned with a dismissive hand gesture. "I do what you ask by pretending you don't exist to anyone outside of [their younger brother] Kelly the once in a blue moon time you come up, I've never said a word to my best friend, not even to my da-personal Munchkin. You drop out of the sky again, I'm assuming you won't tell me anything you've been up to lately, but you can walk in here and think I should explain myself to you?" Lindsey didn't even bother with a weak attempt at holding back sounding as annoyed as he actually felt. Even in his own mind sometimes he'd block out Eliot to ensure not to slip up and mention him out loud ever, believing the one time it would slip it would get his brother into some kind of trouble, and he'd never hear the end of his twin's throwing it in his identical face.

"I just asked one question," Eliot replied with the same mannerism and tone of annoyance.

Lindsey figured he better do the introduction as he did not want to risk Aly thinking she wasn't important enough to be introduced and continuing his mission to undo everything her mother left her with was more important than annoying his brother. "Sweetheart," he began to explain as he took her onto his lap, "when I've talked to you about some of the family, I haven't told you about your Uncle Eliot. He's my Identical Twin brother, we have the same birthday. That's why we look the same. I'll explain more about that to you later if you'd like, I didn't tell you yet because, well, …some of it involves complicated boring adult things." The last part was the best Lindsey could come up with as a way to let her know not telling her had nothing to do with her. Aly hated 'boring adult things', as they were, boring. Lindsey looked at his brother. "Eliot, this is Aly, my daughter." Lindsey was sure he may have smiled at the last word, Samantha had been telling him it was a common occurrence bordering on a habit, just as playing with her fingers while talking had become another habit that he was also sure he did. However, he let it hang in the air, enjoying dropping a surprise on his brother, no matter how it came out.

It took a lot to shock the soldier, turned Hitter-slash- thief, turned business man hitting and thieving for people who have been wrong by big businesses and such. There was also an unexpected stint in North Korea he ended up in and not by choice. These days most of his shock came from things that came out of his crew member Parker's mouth, but this topped even her. Lindsey, his brother, his selfish, power hungry, at times crazy, often an asshole, brother, was a _father_. "Ah, Hi there, " Eliot awkwardly greeted. "I'm your Uncle Eliot. But you were just told that." Eliot wasn't too used to coming off as awkward but the last line came out as an awkward mutter Aly was _very _familiar with.

Aly waved, fascinated but still confused by this whole two-dads thing, boring adult part aside.

Lindsey gave her a tap on the back out her shoulder. "What'dya say, hm?" He coaxed softly in part so maybe his brother wouldn't hear all of it. "C'mon", went on to encourage. He said as a whisper but Eliot, being Eliot, could hear.

Eliot was pretty confused as to why his niece seemed to need encouragement to speak, especially in the way Lindsay had done so, indicating it was more than simple shyness. The wheelchair near the hallway that went to what he assumed lead to the bedrooms finally caught the corner of an eye. But his main focus was the guy on the couch that looked just like Eliot did, looked just like Eliot knew his brother Lindsey looked like. But he was gentle, nurturing, obviously attentive and mindful of a human being that wasn't himself and although Eliot knew his brother was a career liar (with the law degree to prove it), he knew it was all sincere. If it weren't for his looks Eliot would not have ever believed that guy was the same guy that slept with their older brother, Jamie's, first girlfriend just because Lindsey thought –and still did as far as Eliot knew- he was a jerk. Nor was he the guy that ruined their younger sisters engagement by outing she was sleeping around (Eliot suspected Lindsey just took a shot on that one and got a lucky read of the situation.) The reason behind that one was because Lindsey held resentment towards her because in his head she took up attention from their mom that Lindsey would still insist that maybe if their late sister Charlotte (called Charlie by everyone but Lindsey) had instead when she was dying, maybe it could have helped her in some way, or at least let her go more at peace. Lindsey, of course, always would also counter that after that their sister Jo was an attention-seeking brat her whole life. Their youngest sister was given to social services (pressured into it by the agency) at a young age when the agency took notice of the family. Their younger brother Kelly had been the only one "safe" from Lindsey, other than Eliot; but the twins had their share of mutually responsible issues. When Eliot thought more about it he had seen Lindsey close to acting the way he was, when Charlotte was alive.

"HI," Aly repeated upon her father's request. "Hi" Aly shyly introduced herself, worried that maybe father-look-alike wasn't going to understand the words she spoke like most people did, unlike her father's high accuracy rate at understanding her. Yes, at four Lindsey had taught her what a "high accuracy rate" meant, but, only because it came up in conversation.

"Well, hi," Eliot repeated again, "Aly. Ah…um…how old are you?" It seemed like an appropriate question to ask although Eliot was hesitant to ask her anything at all since he knew he was clearly not in an 'average' situation here. Aly held up four fingers with her right hand. "Oh. Four." Eliot paused. "I'm older."

Aly nodded and looked at her father, "an'…y-ou." It had been well established Lindsey was old, but not too old to be fun.

"Yes, we're both old," Lindsey agreed, knowing what Aly said was intended to say the look alike was old just like he was.

"He's older," Eliot was quick to point out.

"By seventeen seconds!" Lindsey snapped, whining more than yelling. "Do you know how short seventeen seconds is, Aly? Not even a full television commercial! Doesn't that sound too short to matter?" Lindsey put Aly back on the sofa, off his lap, and stood up. "But maybe it's longer than I think and that's why you're so damn immature," Lindsey was standing up pointing at his brother for the last part of his rant. "It explains why you're so demanding too." The part directed at Eliot he yelled, mostly.

When Lindsey was done he saw a nut go on the floor near where he was, as did Eliot. Aly had the bowl of snacks for their movie in her reach, so she used one of her visuals she substituted for words she couldn't yet say and threw the nut. She was quite proud of how far it went. "Hey, that was pretty far!" Lindsey put continuing his rant on hold to point out. Aly was very pleased he noticed. "This one isn't me being nuts, though, I'm right. I am!" Lindsey sometimes being nuts had been another established fact of their relationship, largely in part because of his tendency to get angry (at people not named Aly) fast. He flew into a near rage upon learning something her mother had said days prior, about a minute into meeting Aly.

Eliot had decided his reason for his appearance could wait because his brother's situation was too interesting to not dig into. "I'm willing to not give my opinion." Before Eliot continued he received a familiar sneer from his twin as a result of his equally familiar condescension. "But I would like to know why I am finding out I have a niece now."

Lindsey causally sat back down and folded his hands, pointing them towards his brother, just for a better effect. "Actually, you have two," he casually and politely told his brother. Lindsey didn't even laugh at the face Eliot made. Aly had that covered because for her it was exactly like the very funny face her father made at various times; such as when they had discovered the four-legged house member had pooped in his best Gucci loafers (yes, both of them.) Lindsey let it hang it in the air just long enough for Eliot to get himself together to say something, so he could interrupt. "I figured you didn't know Kelly and Amanda have had another baby," he explained, smug face back in place. "A girl this time, obviously, Emma. Not too long ago."

Eliot was quite proud of himself for restraining calling Lindsey the very, very, child-unfriendly name he really, really, wanted to call him. "I'll give them a call."

"They would have called you, if they could have." Lindsey's attitude about it wasn't about maintaining the family connections. It was about that he did with Kelly, at times, made sure something had always been sent to Kelly's son Luke for holidays and sent a baby gift immediately (via Samantha actually doing it) yet now and then he'd hear about how they should be more in touch, more involved with each other, but Eliot got away with being a living ghost since he was doing 'important military work' according to the whole family that wasn't Lindsey, and Lindsey was a lawyer, making money, and it wasn't seen as nearly as excusable. Why Lindsey had never outted his twin to any extent was something Lindsey didn't have an answer for and Eliot was aware of all of that, which may have made him the angriest about the whole thing. "Can we get to what you want?" Lindsey stood up and gestured for his twin to do the same. "Explain while I check on my quiche."

"Oh that's what I smell?" Eliot snipped as he stood up.

"Better than yours I'm sure."

"H-hey," Aly added, with a pout, when she had an opening.

"Sorry," Lindsey apologized, "the quiche Aly and I made," he amended. The pout disappeared.

Eliot awkwardly smiled at his niece. "Well, that must be why I just got a good wiff. But I can show you a better one, I'm sure."

"Cannot," Lindsey defended. "You don't even use a little Gouda I bet."

Aly sighed. "B-ye," she inserted into the conversation, hopeful it could make them leave. One of her father was for the most part awfully neat. Two had started to make her head hurt. The conversation wasn't as mean as say her father talking to the Lilah-lady, and certainly not as bad as when the sad-looking Angel guy's name was even mentioned, let alone appeared, but they somehow seemed better to deal with since it was much clearer which side she was most certainly (and often literally) on. This double-thing had _really_ thrown her off.

One thing that didn't throw her off was how before they went into the kitchen, her father placed her in her favorite corning of the sofa, followed by putting a pillow next to her and placing one on the floor, stopping occasionally to fawn over her position. That was just how it came to be if he was talking to somebody, usually on the phone, leaving her there. Eliot was interested in why his brother had done that, and fascinated by the fact that it seemed like he'd become a third wheel in a silent movie, as there was clearly some form of communication, or just getting each other, that had gone on in front of him he wasn't in on. Sure he and is twin had had moments like that, it wasn't exactly rare either, but he felt like they were never as connected as what he just saw. That was when it really hit him that his twin, the guy that came from the same egg as he did he decades ago, who had at times been the only person who knew exactly where he was, what he did, what identity he was under, now had a physically smaller, but much bigger part of him in his life, which meant a demotion for the Twin Connection. Even if he knew exactly how to describe what that made him feel, he would never in a million years tell Lindsey he fel_t something_.

Once they were in the kitchen Elle made her way in too, hoping that meant food or at least a treat for her. "Go see Aly," Lindsey informed the dog, but did give her a milkbone from a nearby box on a counter. Elle went on her way, back on to the couch.

"That doesn't freak you out?" Eliot questioned his brother, pointing to the couch, given how overly protective he was of keeping all of his nice things clean.

"Elle's a rare breed and pure bread. She was more expensive than the sofa," Lindsey shrugged. "And I want her around Aly as much as possible."

Eliot raised an eyebrow. "You named your dog after me?" he questioned, insulted.

Lindsey laughed. "So egotistical. Typical." He laughed again even as his brother gave him the 'pot meet kettle' look. "Aly named her because Elmo is a boys name, so she thought Elle would be a good girls name in place of Elmo. For proof of why take a look around." He pointed to various Elmo (the muppet) toys and a sippie cup. "The thought of associating you with a bitch though had crossed my mind as a bonus." Actually, Lindsey had been so occupied with everything Aly, it hadn't until that moment, but why let a little thing like that get in the way of a good insult. "So why are you here?"

Eliot really had not intended to spend as much time as he already had at his brother's place. What he was doing there was important. But he couldn't get to it before getting another question answered. "In a minute," Eliot answered, not sarcastically. He knew he had to, he knew he wanted too, word his question in the best way he could think of, but since the topic was something he cared about, not something he was working on, did not come naturally to him. "Lindsey, Aly, what's she… like? I mean, is-" Eliot stopped talking when his brother waved a hand at him to stop.

"What's wrong with her?" Lindsey replied, seriously, but not bothered at all by what his brother had said. "I have a feeling you don't have time to spend all day here for a lesson on neurology. It's… complicated, obviously, you've picked up on that already, on some of it, I'm sure." Lindsey paused and turned to flip the oven light on. Lindsey avoiding looking at Eliot was a rare occurrence and never resulted in anything that wasn't some kind of bad news or story. The last time it happened was when he hand was first cut off, which was the last time they actually saw each other. "She's… she's not the most physically capable person… in a lot of ways. Walking, talking, moving most of limbs, included." Eliot had known something of that nature had to be coming, yet it was hard to hear confirmed. "But you know," Lindsey stopped looking at the oven, "she's really, really, smart," as he went on speaking he become more animated, and proud, "I mean the nut thing, you saw that, right? She thinks of those things on her own. She has a lot of those kinds of substitutes that she comes up with." Lindsey bragging about his child's intellect in expressing knowing he was crazy was one of the rare moves from this 'father Lindsey', that Eliot felt absolutely no surprise by. Yep, his brother was still sometimes crazy alright. Just now with four-year-old approval, of some sort. "It could be worse," Lindsey added. "She could be better, but I'm saying that will come in time."

"Are _you_ okay?"

Lindsey shrugged. "At first… I've dealt with it. I'm dealing with it." Eliot was sure that was all he would get out of him on that question. "I've been dealing with her just being here, mostly, honestly. That's part of why I haven't told you really, I've just been busy and it basically just happened, really, the days are easy to count, less than thirty, too."

"You told Kelly, it seems." He wasn't being bitter, but he was rather offended his twin had not tried to get in touch with him about this, especially since he had with a non-twin brother.

"Kelly is a father," Lindsey reminded him. "Plus, you know, a math teacher, I have my own enemies and you…"

"I get it," Eliot interrupted. "This is bad timing," he muttered.

Lindsey went back to being annoyed. "Oh Christ, why are you here?" this time he asked the question with heavy exasperation.

After a moment Eliot finally spit it out. "I need your passport. I need to be you to travel-"

"Not a chance in hell!" Lindsey yelled, probably loud enough that Aly heard.

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't really need it."

"You shouldn't be asking now that you've been here." Lindsey's attitude was building up again. "Use one of your fake ones if you can't use your changed real identity."

"I need a passport completely legit to travel with my team this time to ensure my cover isn't blown."

"And I have enough of my own shit to protect her from. I know my enemies and do so accordingly, without involving you. Grant me the same favor because I do not need to deal with whatever you're doing, whoever you're pissing off as well. Think! If you use my identity what if whoever you are trying to get something over thinks it is me, and then Aly is somehow put in danger?"

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Eliot vowed.

"How?" Lindsey challenged. "Any plan is going to be a last minute thing. Aly does **not** get protected via a last minute add-on." Lindsey was baffled at how his brother had not seemed to catch on yet that person in question was, in fact, according to Lindsey, the single greatest person they'd ever meet, despite how neither were worthy of having the privilege of knowing her. "If something were to happen to her, I would kill you and whoever would be the cause, your "team" be dammed." Lindsey was not exaggerating. "She isn't the only one I'm concerned about," he added. "You have your team, I have my life. Let's leave it at that."

"Aly's mom?" Eliot guessed.

"Please. I'm in the process of _destroying_ her. That alone I really do not want unneeded distractions from." Lindsey delivered his answer calmly, but ice cold, making it clear it was, in fact, something he was working on and it was as bad as he'd made it out to be. It had also become clear to Eliot that Aly brought out a paternal side of Lindsey, but Lindsey McDonald was still dangerous, possibly moreso now than ever. He had never seen Lindsey come off as dark as he just had, and he had seen his brother briefly not long after he lost his hand, and that was one dark Lindsey. Little did he know, his brother had often mused to himself he had been feeling like a split personality; Aly's Dad and Lindsey McDonald. "I have a friend. She has a kid that's a friend of Aly's now. That's the short version." Eliot of all people knew that meant 'I want to sleep with the woman-friend' and Lindsey was fine keeping him from finding out he actually _liked_ a woman.

"Why are you out to destroy Aly's mom?" Eliot curiously questioned, getting off track again. "I've been assuming you only recently found out you had her. Is that why?"

"It's somewhere on the list," Lindsey confirmed. "I still suspect she was just too selfish to be a mother, in general. But there's reason to believe maybe she wouldn't have just resigned from the job had Aly been… if she didn't need so much-"

Eliot wasn't as angry as his brother, but he was close. "Fucking bitch," flew out of his mouth, interrupting his brother. It was low enough, like most of their conversation had been, to have not been heard by Aly.

"But then again I did sleep with her, even though she was horrible the whole time. Still though, I was sure this would happen to _you_, before me."

"Screw you," Eliot said with a light laugh. "And don't ever put that out there to the universe again."

"Yeah, because it's impossible that somewhere there's a little Eliot already, or enough for a basketball team, making some woman's life even worse than the night she slept with you."

Eliot cringed at the thought, just as Lindsey had planned. But then Eliot remembered what his brother said before did sound familiar to Eliot. "Wait, you were bragging about some rich girl a few years ago, and complaining."

"Yup," Lindsey confirmed. "She was _hot_ and I thought she might have been useful for something so I put up with her crap, I think she did like me actually to an extent, as much as a selfish whore can like a person. I got to the point where I couldn't stand her any more, and took my chances without what I could have maybe used and never looked back. Aly has already paid for my some of my crap by living with someone who should have been sterilized for years and I had no idea. That's never happening again."

"Where do you stand with Wolfram and Hart?"

"Oh the firm that once represented Moreau? What's your connection to him again?" That was always Lindsey's fallback when he did not want to talk about work-related issues or comparisons because it always made Eliot back off. Lindsey did realize that this particular conversation really did not deserve him running his mouth off that way. Eliot was asking for Aly, it wasn't one of their comparative arguments. He also found himself feeling uncharacteristically charitable; which somehow had to be Samantha's fault due to her idolization of her brothers and entire family. "Are you sure being me won't bite me in the ass?" Lindsey questioned.

"I would not still be asking if I thought it was a real risk. C'mon _you_ know that."

"Dammit, Sam," Lindsey muttered under his breath. "Ignore that. I have to see which safe or box it's in in my room."

When Lindsey went in his room to look for the passport Eliot went back into the living room to talk to his niece. "Hey. …Can I sit?" Eliot pointed hesitantly to the open spot on the couch, unsure of what exactly you talk to a four-year-old about.

"Uh-huh." Aly also was not sure what you do with someone that looks just like your dad, but isn't him. Even though he seemed to be also as uncomfortable as her dad was when they met.

Eliot got up and stood in front of Aly, "may I?" he asked holding his arms out. She agreed and he sat back down with her on his lap. "So, ah, good movie?" Eliot asked after glancing at the TV.

"Uh-huh."

"So…"

"Hm?"

"Um, have you met your other uncle yet?"

"No."

"Oh, so there's still time for me to become the favorite?" He slightly laughed when Aly gave a tiny shrug. "I probably haven't gotten too many points, showing up here probably has you really confused, huh?"

"Yea," she replied as seriously as a four year old could answer a question.

"Well, I'm going to be back here soon enough, then I'll prove I can be fun." Eliot was going to try to not return the passport until both twins schedules allowed him to follow through on that.

"You gonna prove that to me too?" Lindsey questioned, passport in hand, entering the room. Aly sighed. Didn't they just bicker enough? Not even her fellow four-year-old best friend Ben and his sister had done that much in Aly's experience.

"I only have fun with people I want to have with." Eliot looked down at Aly, "You know, if he ever gets to be too much for you, let me know and I can slip in in his place," he offered with a wink.

Lindsey glared at his brother, snatched Aly up and threw his passport on Eliot's lap. "Yeah, like that could happen."

Possessive, jealous Lindsey, more traits Eliot was used too. "Jeeze," he muttered with a head shake.

Eliot left soon after allowing Lindsey and Aly to finish Toy Story. Lindsey decided to go back to the part Eliot came in on telling Aly he likes seeing movies in their entirety. But really he wanted to see that movie in it's entirety. As the scene was being searched for, Lindsey looked down at Aly visibly a little nervous. "Y-y-ou really would want me replaced, right?" he could not help but question. Aly assured him no. If she could have she would have told him just telling her 'the real stories' of Disney and other children's tales was enough to keep him around. "Even if I continue to ask you stupid questions , create weird situations and maybe get too speech-y and too Into Monopoly for years to come?"

Aly smiled at him but did not give a verbal response. The Monopoly [Jr, of course] experience had been _pretty_ intense.

End.

I hope everyone liked the story! Should Lindsey/Aly/Eliot have another meeting?


End file.
